Software change tracking and management

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for software tracking and management are disclosed. In embodiments, a computer-implemented method comprises: receiving, by a computing device, build output code from one or more user computer devices via a network, wherein the build output code is generated in response to a software build; automatically identifying, by the computing device, differences between the build output code and associated in-production software code; automatically mapping, by the computing device, the differences to microservices of the in-production software code; and generating, by the computing device, a list of microservices of the in-production software code affected by the differences in a rollout of the build output code based on the mapping.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates generally to continuous delivery (CD)systems for software development and, more particularly, to DevOpschange tracking and management.

In general, DevOps is a software engineering practice that aims atunifying software development (Dev) and software operation (Ops), withthe goal of shortening development cycles, increasing deploymentfrequency, and increasing dependability of releases. CD is a softwareengineering approach in which teams produce software in short cycles toensure that the software can be reliably released at any time. Ingeneral, the CD process makes the delivery of new applications andservices more agile than the traditional approach where softwaredevelopers and operations personnel belonged to separate teams.Traditionally, tracking all software changes required between softwareapplications (e.g., for maintenance, troubleshooting and regulatorycompliance) has been performed by humans via manual updates to a changeand configuration management database (CCMDB) when managing ChangeRequests (CR) for all affected components.

Microservices architecture structures a software application as acollection of loosely coupled services. In microservices architecture,services are generally fine-grained and the protocols are lightweight.One benefit of decomposing an application into different smallerservices is that it improves modularity and makes the application easierto understand, develop and test. Additionally, microservicesarchitecture enables autonomous development teams to develop, deploy andscale their respective services (microservices) independently. Inmicroservices architecture, each microservice (i.e., subsystem) can beused by different applications. For example, in a banking application, aPersonal Information Microservice to manage personal information can beused by a credit card payment system and by an online tradingapplication. Accordingly, any changes to the Personal InformationMicroservice will impact both the credit card payment system and theonline trading application.

SUMMARY

In an aspect of the invention, a computer-implemented method includes:receiving, by a computing device, build output code from one or moreuser computer devices via a network, wherein the build output code isgenerated in response to a software build; automatically identifying, bythe computing device, differences between the build output code andassociated in-production software code; automatically mapping, by thecomputing device, the differences to microservices of the in-productionsoftware code; and generating, by the computing device, a list ofmicroservices of the in-production software code affected by thedifferences in a rollout of the build output code based on the mapping.

In another aspect of the invention, there is a computer program productfor software change tracking and management. The computer programproduct comprises a computer readable storage medium having programinstructions embodied therewith. The program instructions are executableby a computing device to cause the computing device to: receive buildoutput code from one or more user computer devices via the network;access in-production software code; automatically identify differencesbetween the build output code and the in-production software code;automatically map the differences to microservices of the in-productionsoftware code; generate a list of microservices of the in-productionsoftware code affected by the differences, based on the map; access alist of software components from a change configuration managementdatabase (CCMDB) via the network; generate a change list including oneor more of the software components to be modified based on the list ofmicroservices; and share the change list with the change configurationmanagement database (CCMDB).

In another aspect of the invention, there is a system for softwaretracking and management. The system includes a CPU, a computer readablememory and a computer readable storage medium associated with acomputing device; program instructions to automatically identifydifferences between build output code and in-production software code;program instructions to automatically map the differences tomicroservices of the in-production software code; program instructionsto generate a list of microservices of the in-production software codeaffected by the differences, based on the map; program instructions togenerate a change list including one or more software components to bemodified based on the list of microservices; program instructions todetermine required rollout steps for modifying the one or more softwarecomponents of the change list based on historic software change data androllout parameters associated with the build output code; programinstructions to generate a forecast of expected down times required forthe rollout of the build output code based on the historic softwarechange data and the rollout parameters; and program instructions to sendthe forecast to a change configuration management database (CCMDB) via anetwork, wherein the program instructions are stored on the computerreadable storage medium for execution by the CPU via the computerreadable memory.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is described in the detailed description whichfollows, in reference to the noted plurality of drawings by way ofnon-limiting examples of exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 1 depicts a computing infrastructure according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary environment in accordance with aspects of theinvention.

FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of steps of a method in accordance with aspectsof the invention.

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of steps of a method in accordance with aspectsof the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates generally to continuous delivery (CD)systems for software development and, more particularly, to DevOpschange tracking and management. In general, the CD process for softwaredevelopment makes the delivery of new applications and services moreagile than the traditional approach where software developers andoperations personnel belonged to separate teams. However, the problemexists of keeping track of all the software changes required betweenapplications, which is important for maintenance and troubleshooting,and is often mandated by regulations. One traditional approach totracking changes is to have humans manually updating a change andconfiguration management database (CCMDB) when managing Change Requests(CR) for all affected components. Such a method can be time consumingand prone to human error.

A technical problem exists in that a change in a subsystem of a firstapplication may impact a second application, while there could be otherapplications not affected by that change. In a real life application,it's very complex to discover and keep track of all dependencies acrossdifferent subsystems, particularly in a microservice architecture wherethe number of microservices can be in the hundreds. That is, in amicroservice architecture, each microservice (subsystem) can be used bydifferent applications. The term microservice as used herein refers to arelatively small piece of software code for functionality that isself-contained within the microservice. The extensive use ofmicroservices makes it very complex to evaluate and calculate the riskrelated to the rollout of a new change. The term rollout as used hereinrefers to a staged series of activities or steps necessary to deploysoftware code.

Embodiments of the invention provide a technical solution to the problemof tracking and promulgating software changes throughout multipleapplications and microservices by enabling a system to automaticallyidentify the impact of a change on a code which runs in production mode.In aspects, a system is adapted to detect software components affectedby a build (software build) by comparing artifacts being deployment in aRelease Cycle with artifacts that are In-Production. The term build asused herein refers to a software development build in which software isconstructed, or original software code is converted or modified, toproduce a new software product (i.e., build output code). The termartifact as used herein refers to a tangible by-product produced duringthe development of software. For example, some artifacts (e.g., usecases, class diagrams, other Unified Modeling Language (UML) models,requirements and design documents) help describe the function,architecture and design of software. Starting from the differences inthe artifacts (e.g., changes in database schema, changes in binaries,scripts, data, etc.) the system may detect affected subsystems(microservices) of the software build and track all the changes. Inaspects, the system may determine what components (retrieved from theCCMDB) are impacted by the changes, based on a mapping of the artifactsto the components retrieved from a deployment model.

In aspects, when a list of affected components is created, the systemdetermines whether or not an approval record is required (there may besome components that require approval records for changes, while othersdo not), according to predefined policies. In embodiments, the list ofimpacted components is also used to estimate which applications andsystems will be affected during the rollout of the change, and thesystem also calculates a forecast of the duration of associated rolloutoutages (outage windows) to deploy the change. When all necessaryapproval records are collected by the system, the change is ready forrollout and all the components in the CCMDB are updated and theirversion increased (if necessary). This mechanism allows and an automatedversion update of the components (a version of a component is increasedwhen a change in that component is detected). In aspects, componentowners can configure the system to be notified when changes occur.

In embodiments, the system is configured to automatically calculaterisks and impacts of rollout changes utilizing the following steps: 1)receiving code from developers at a source code management system; 2)triggering a build (software build) based on a schedule, on a manualrequest, or on event rules; 3) comparing the output of the build(executables, scripts, binary files, etc.) to the same files deployed inthe production environment; 4) mapping all the differences detected atstep 3 on each of the microservices (for instance: executable1 affectsmicroservice1 and microservice2; the new database schema affectsmicroservice3, etc. . . . ); 5) inferring, based on known microservicespotentially affected by the change, what applications are affected basedon the microservices used by each application; 6) providing, based onall known applications impacted, a list of expected downtimes (if any)required to rollout the change along with the exact list of applicationsthat have risks to experience glitches due to the new version ofsoftware; 7) tracking the version in a CCMDB of each microservice tofacilitate the revert of changes in case of unexpected behaviors; and 8)informing a user when software changes occur. In this manner,implementations of embodiments of the invention provide the advantagesof enabling automatic detection of artifact changes during softwarerelease cycles compared to software in the production environment.Further, embodiments of the present invention provide the advantage ofenabling tracking of microservices to facilitate the reversal of changesin the case of unexpected behaviors, as well as enabling forecasting ofa duration of an outage window to deploy the change.

In embodiments, an estimation of an outage window is calculated takingin consideration different variables (how long it took in the past, thesize of the files to be deployed, the amount of data to be converted,the estimated duration to install a software patch, etc.), and also ashared repository containing the historical data about the duration ofsimilar activities made on other environments (not necessarily the sameas the one affected by the change). The system may apply scaling factorsin case the infrastructure is different (e.g., a slower networkincreases the outage window by 20%, or a high powered CPU reduces theoutage window by 40%, etc.).

In embodiments, a system initiates changes in one or more data centersto achieve a profiled objective (e.g., minimizing the outage times for arollout). In aspects, the system locally analyses required changes atthe client level in order to logically decompose the changes accordingto real time data center conditions and node conditions. Examples oflogical entities of the change include: 1) network tasks: file transfers(file dimensions, cryptography etc.); 2) human tasks: human activitiesclassified in terms of complexity (e.g. number of steps, skill requiredetc.); and 3) automation tasks: workload to be accomplished by a machine(e.g. long running, CPU intensive, IO intensive etc.).

In embodiments, one or more data centers affected by the changes areanalyzed by the system in order to map the changes to a specific datacenter topology. In aspects the system analyzes additional data centersthat can share/transfer resources to the data center affected by thechange, wherein the additional data centers are determined based onprofiled logical groups and/or groups of affected data centers withspecified affinity (e.g., regional location group, data centers behindthe same firewall, etc.). In embodiments, according to a similargrouping or affinity approach, the system may also initiate the nodesinside the data center affected by the change to start a peer-to-peernode collaboration to achieve targeted change. In aspects,implementation of the data centers and nodes collaboration takes intoaccount real time local condition for any logical entity of change to beachieved. Examples of those conditions are: 1) hardware real timecharacteristics of the machines: e.g. available central processing units(CPUs), available memory, etc.; 2) network data center: e.g., local &external real time network speed; and 3) the workload.

In embodiments, the system analyzes enterprise historical data ofsimilar changes. For example, historic data regarding: 1) historicaleffort: e.g., required time for implementing similar changes, or timerequired for similar tasks; and 2) skills of the operators implementingchanges/tasks.

In aspects, based on the analysis, the system reduces the outage bydecomposing the changes in several logical entities and by optimizingthem. For example, the system may: 1) assign the most skilled availableperson for each of the manual tasks; 2) leverage a logically createdgroup of nodes (e.g., inside the affected data center or across datacenters to move some of the entities of change out of targeted changescope); 3) reshape local conditions like network bandwidth or any othermachine properties acting on third party activities belonging to thelogically created groups; 4) leverage historical data to continuouslyforecast service level agreements (SLAs) matching, and 5) repeat/iterateany of the above steps to realize optimizations.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product at any possible technical detail level of integration.The computer program product may include a computer readable storagemedium (or media) having computer readable program instructions thereonfor causing a processor to carry out aspects of the present invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, configuration data for integrated circuitry, oreither source code or object code written in any combination of one ormore programming languages, including an object oriented programminglanguage such as Smalltalk, C++, or the like, and procedural programminglanguages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programminglanguages. The computer readable program instructions may executeentirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as astand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partlyon a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. Inthe latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user'scomputer through any type of network, including a local area network(LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to anexternal computer (for example, through the Internet using an InternetService Provider). In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including,for example, programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gatearrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute thecomputer readable program instructions by utilizing state information ofthe computer readable program instructions to personalize the electroniccircuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of theorder noted in the Figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a schematic of an example of a computinginfrastructure is shown. Computing infrastructure 10 is only one exampleof a suitable computing infrastructure and is not intended to suggestany limitation as to the scope of use or functionality of embodiments ofthe invention described herein. Regardless, computing infrastructure 10is capable of being implemented and/or performing any of thefunctionality set forth hereinabove.

In computing infrastructure 10 there is a computer system (or server)12, which is operational with numerous other general purpose or specialpurpose computing system environments or configurations. Examples ofwell-known computing systems, environments, and/or configurations thatmay be suitable for use with computer system 12 include, but are notlimited to, personal computer systems, server computer systems, thinclients, thick clients, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessorsystems, microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmableconsumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputer systems, mainframecomputer systems, and distributed cloud computing environments thatinclude any of the above systems or devices, and the like.

Computer system 12 may be described in the general context of computersystem executable instructions, such as program modules, being executedby a computer system. Generally, program modules may include routines,programs, objects, components, logic, data structures, and so on thatperform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types.Computer system 12 may be practiced in distributed cloud computingenvironments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices thatare linked through a communications network. In a distributed cloudcomputing environment, program modules may be located in both local andremote computer system storage media including memory storage devices.

As shown in FIG. 1, computer system 12 in computing infrastructure 10 isshown in the form of a general-purpose computing device. The componentsof computer system 12 may include, but are not limited to, one or moreprocessors or processing units (e.g., CPU) 16, a system memory 28, and abus 18 that couples various system components including system memory 28to processor 16.

Bus 18 represents one or more of any of several types of bus structures,including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, anaccelerated graphics port, and a processor or local bus using any of avariety of bus architectures. By way of example, and not limitation,such architectures include Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus,Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA) bus, VideoElectronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, and PeripheralComponent Interconnects (PCI) bus.

Computer system 12 typically includes a variety of computer systemreadable media. Such media may be any available media that is accessibleby computer system 12, and it includes both volatile and non-volatilemedia, removable and non-removable media.

System memory 28 can include computer system readable media in the formof volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM) 30 and/or cachememory 32. Computer system 12 may further include otherremovable/non-removable, volatile/non-volatile computer system storagemedia. By way of example only, storage system 34 can be provided forreading from and writing to a nonremovable, non-volatile magnetic media(not shown and typically called a “hard drive”). Although not shown, amagnetic disk drive for reading from and writing to a removable,non-volatile magnetic disk (e.g., a “floppy disk”), and an optical diskdrive for reading from or writing to a removable, non-volatile opticaldisk such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or other optical media can be provided.In such instances, each can be connected to bus 18 by one or more datamedia interfaces. As will be further depicted and described below,memory 28 may include at least one program product having a set (e.g.,at least one) of program modules that are configured to carry out thefunctions of embodiments of the invention.

Program/utility 40, having a set (at least one) of program modules 42,may be stored in memory 28 by way of example, and not limitation, aswell as an operating system, one or more application programs, otherprogram modules, and program data. Each of the operating system, one ormore application programs, other program modules, and program data orsome combination thereof, may include an implementation of a networkingenvironment. Program modules 42 generally carry out the functions and/ormethodologies of embodiments of the invention as described herein.

Computer system 12 may also communicate with one or more externaldevices 14 such as a keyboard, a pointing device, a display 24, etc.;one or more devices that enable a user to interact with computer system12; and/or any devices (e.g., network card, modem, etc.) that enablecomputer system 12 to communicate with one or more other computingdevices. Such communication can occur via Input/Output (I/O) interfaces22. Still yet, computer system 12 can communicate with one or morenetworks such as a local area network (LAN), a general wide area network(WAN), and/or a public network (e.g., the Internet) via network adapter20. As depicted, network adapter 20 communicates with the othercomponents of computer system 12 via bus 18. It should be understoodthat although not shown, other hardware and/or software components couldbe used in conjunction with computer system 12. Examples, include, butare not limited to: microcode, device drivers, redundant processingunits, external disk drive arrays, RAID systems, tape drives, and dataarchival storage systems, etc.

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary environment in accordance with aspects of theinvention. The environment includes a network 50 connecting a sourcecode management (SCM) server 60 with one or more developer computerdevices indicated at 62, one or more user computer devices indicated at64 and a Change Configuration Management Database (CCMDB) 66. The SCMserver 60 may comprise a computer system 12 of FIG. 1, and may beconnected to the network 50 via the network adapter 20 of FIG. 1. TheSCM server 60 may be configured as a special purpose computing devicethat is part of a software development infrastructure.

The network 50 may be any suitable communication network or combinationof networks, such as a local area network (LAN), a general wide areanetwork (WAN), and/or a public network (e.g., the Internet). Thedeveloper computer device 62 and the user computer device 64 maycomprise components of the computing device 12, may be connected to thenetwork 50 via a network adapter (e.g., network adaptor 20 of FIG. 1),and may be a desktop computer, laptop computer, tablet computer, etc.

The CCMDB 66 may also comprise components of the computing device 12,and may be connected to the network 50 via a network adapter (e.g.,network adaptor 20 of FIG. 1). The CCMDB 66 may be configured as aspecial purpose computing device that is part of the softwaredevelopment infrastructure. The CCMDB 66 may be an existing databaseutilizing a number of different configuration management tools andmethods. The CCMDB 66 may include a plurality of program modules (e.g.,program module 42 of FIG. 1) executed by the CCMDB 66 and configured toperform one or more of the functions described herein. In embodiments,the CCMDB 66 includes a communication module 70 for communicating withone or more additional computing devices (e.g., SCM server 60, developercomputer device 62, user computer device 64) via the network 50. Inaspects, the CCMDB 66 includes a tracking module 71 configured to logincidents and change orders in a database 72, track configuration items(CIs) and the relationships between them, and store historic managementdata (e.g., historic software change tracking data) in the database 72.The term CIs as used herein refers to IT infrastructure (e.g., softwareapplications, a server, etc.) under the control of a configurationmanagement process.

Still referring to FIG. 2, the SCM server 60 may include a plurality ofprogram modules (e.g., program module 42 of FIG. 1) executed by the SCMserver 60 and configured to perform one or more of the functionsdescribed herein. In embodiments, the SCM server 60 includes acommunication module 80 for communicating with the developer computerdevice 62, the user computer device 64 and the CCMDB 66. In embodiments,the communication module 80 is configured to communicate with the CCMDB66 to determine when a build has been triggered. The term build as usedherein refers to a software development build in which software isconstructed, or original software code is converted or modified, toproduce a new software product (i.e., build output code).

With reference to FIG. 2, the SCM server 60 may include a source codecontrol module 81 configured to receive in-production software code,including one or more microservices, from one or more outside sources(e.g., the developer computer device 62, the user computer device 64 andthe CCMDB 66), and store the in-production software code in a sourcecode database 82. The term in-production software code refers tosoftware code that is currently deployed in one or more products, or issoftware code that is in its original form (original software code)prior to being modified in a build of the present invention.

The SCM server 60 may include a build module 83 configured to receivebuild output code from one or more developer computer devices 62 andsave the build output code in a build database 84. The term build outputcode refers to software code developed in accordance with a build. Inembodiments, the SCM server 60 includes an impact analysis module 85configured to compare the build output code to the in-productionsoftware code (e.g., compare artifacts of the build output code withartifacts of the in-production software code) to identify one or moremodified microservice of the build output code. In aspects, the impactanalysis module 85 is configured to map all differences detected toassociated microservices (affected microservices). In embodiments, theimpact analysis module 85 is configured to infer one or more existingsoftware applications are affected by the build output code based onmicroservices utilized by each of the existing software applications. Inaspects, the impact analysis module 85 determines, based on predefinedpolicies stored in a rules database 86 of the SCM server or a rulesdatabase 87 of the CCMDB, whether an approval record is required toimplement changes associated with rollout of the build output code, andautomatically initiate changes when no approval record is required. Arollout of new software (e.g., the build output code) may require newinfrastructure, changes to infrastructure (e.g., local changes to datacenter topology nodes), and changes to a variety of softwareapplications.

Still referencing to FIG. 2, in embodiments, the SCM server 60 includesa rollout module 88 configured to determine a list of expected downtimes(forecasted outage windows) required to rollout the build output code,along with a list of software applications that are at risk ofexperiencing errors or glitches due to the build output code, based onhistoric configuration management data. The rollout module 88 maydetermine data centers associated with software components on a changelist; determine rollout steps for implementing the rollout; identifyadditional data centers that may assist with the rollout; make changesto available resources of the data centers or additional data centers toreduce outage windows; and automate initiation of rollout steps.

In embodiments, the environment of the present invention may includeadditional or fewer components than those shown in FIG. 2. In aspects,separate components may be integrated into a single computing componentor module. Additionally, or alternatively, a single component may beimplemented as multiple computing components or modules.

The quantity of devices and/or networks in the environment of FIG. 2 isnot limited to what is shown in FIG. 2. In practice, the environment mayinclude additional devices and/or networks; fewer devices and/ornetworks; different devices and/or networks; or differently arrangeddevices and/or networks than illustrated in FIG. 2. Also, in someimplementations, one or more of the devices of the environment mayperform one or more functions described as being performed by anotherone or more of the devices of the environment. Devices of theenvironment may interconnect via wired connections, wirelessconnections, or a combination of wired and wireless connections.

FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of a method in accordance with aspects of theinvention. Steps of the method of FIG. 2 may be performed in theenvironment illustrated in FIG. 2, and are described with reference toelements shown in FIG. 2.

At step 300, the source code control module 81 of the SCM server 60receives in-production code, the code including one or moremicroservice, and saves the in-production code in the source codedatabase 82. The source code control module 81 may receive thein-production code from the CCMDB 66, the developer computer device 64or the user computer device 64, via the network 50.

At step 301, the SCM server 60 determines that a build has beentriggered based on data received from the CCMDB 66. The data from theCCMDB 66 may be in the form of a notification that a build has beentriggered based on a schedule, a manual request for a build, event ruledata, or other triggering event.

At step 302, the build module 83 receives build output code and savesthe build output code in the build database 84. In aspects, the buildmodule 83 receives the build output code from one or more developercomputer devices 62.

At step 303, the impact analysis module 85 automatically identifiesdifferences between the build output code and the in-production code. Inaspects, the impact analysis module 85 compares artifacts of the buildoutput code to artifacts of the in-production code to identify thedifferences (e.g., changes in database schema, binaries, scripts, data,etc.).

At step 304, the impact analysis module 85 automatically maps thedifferences identified at step 303 to one or more microservices. Forexample, the impact analysis module 85 may access a database ofmicroservices (e.g., database 72 of CCMDB 66) and determine that anidentified difference in an executable1 affects both a microservice1 anda microservice2, and that an identified difference in a database schemaaffects a micorservice3.

At step 305, the impact analysis module 85 generates a listmicroservices affected by, or potentially affected by, the build outputcode based on the mapping of step 304, and saves the list in the builddatabase 84. For example, based on the mapping of step 304, the list mayindicate that microservices1-3 are affected by the build output code.

At step 306, the impact analysis module 85 generates a change list ofone or more software applications requiring modification based on thelist of microservices generated at step 305. In aspects, the impactanalysis module 85 accesses a database (e.g., database 72 of CCMDB 66)of software applications including associated microservices, anddetermines the change list based on software applications includingmicroservices that match microservices in the list of microservicesaffected by the build output code. For example, a microservice4configured to manage personal information may be utilized by both acredit card payment application and an online trading application. Thus,a change in the microservice4 will impact both the credit card paymentapplication and the online trading application. In this example, thechange list would include changes required for both the credit cardpayment application and the online trading application. In embodiments,the impact analysis module 85 shares the change list with the CCMDB 66via the network 50.

At step 307, the impact analysis module 85 determines, based onpredefined policies, whether an approval record is required to implementchanges required for the rollout of the build output code (e.g., changesrequired to software applications on the change list). The term approvalrecord as used herein refers to an indication that a change is approved.It should be understood that administrators of a continuous deliveryprocess may define rules to specify who approves change requests.Typically, non-standard change requests require approval before they canbe completed. In aspects, a given change (e.g., a change in the changelist of step 306) requiring an approval record may be flagged as pending(awaiting approval) or approved, for example. Approval records may beobtained locally at the SCM server 60 or may be obtained through theCCMDB 66.

At step 308, the SCM server 60 automatically initiates changes to one ormore software applications on the change list when the impact analysismodule 85 determines at step 307 that no approval record is required toimplement the changes, or that an approval record as been received. Inaspects, this may comprise the SCM server 60 determining, based onpredefined policies in the rules database 86 of the SCM server 60 or therules database 87 of the CCMDB 66 that a change on the change list doesnot require an approval record. In embodiments, the SCM server 60automatically initiates changes to one or more software applications byautomatically updating affected microservices (microservices in the listof microservices affected by the build output code) of the softwareapplications. In embodiments, the SCM server 60 automatically initiateschanges to one or more software applications by providing instructionsto change the one or more software applications to a remote computingdevice (e.g., CCMDB 66).

At step 309, the SCM server 60 tracks versions of each microservicechanged in the course of a rollout of the build output code and storesassociated tracking data in the build database 84. In this way, the SCMserver 60 enables a revert to changes (e.g., rollback) in the case ofunexpected behaviors. In aspects, the SCM server 60 shares the trackingdata with the CCMDB 66. In embodiments, step 309 is implemented by atleast one of the impact analysis module 85 and the rollout module 88 ofthe SCM server 60.

Optionally, at step 310, the SCM server 60 generates and sends anotification indicating that one or more software changes have occurred.In embodiments, the SCM server 60 accesses rules in a rules database(rules database 86 or 87), including rules defining when a notificationshould be generated and sent in accordance with step 310. In aspects, acomponent owner (e.g., software application owner) may selectivelyconfigure user options provided by the SCM server 60 to elect to benotified when changes to their component are initiated by the SCM server60.

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of a method in accordance with aspects of theinvention. Steps of the method of FIG. 2 may be performed in theenvironment illustrated in FIG. 2, and are described with reference toelements shown in FIG. 2. Additionally, information gathered inaccordance with the steps of FIG. 3 may be utilized in the performanceof forecasting and change managements steps of FIG. 4.

At step 400 of FIG. 4, the rollout module 88 determines one or more datacenters (affected data centers) associated with the softwareapplications in the change list. The term data center as used hereinrefers to a facility used to house computer systems and associatedcomponents (i.e., resources of the data center).

At step 401, the rollout module 88 determines rollout parameters androllout steps for implementing changes in the change list. The termrollout parameters as used herein refers to parameters affecting theimplementation of the rollout, such as the size of software files to bedeployed, the amount of data to be converted, estimated duration toinstall a software patch, etc. Moreover, rollout parameters may includeparameters of the affected data centers determined at step 400 (e.g.,resources available). In embodiments, the rollout module 88 analyzes achange in the change list generated at step 306 of FIG. 3 locally at theclient level in order to logically decompose the change according toreal time data center and node condition to determine individual rolloutsteps. For example, local entities of the change may include: 1) networktasks or subtasks (e.g., file transfers requiring subtasks of filedimensioning and cryptography, etc.); 2) human tasks (e.g., humanactivities classified in terms of complexity, such as number of steps,skills required, etc.); and 3) automation tasks (e.g., workload to beaccomplished by a machine, such as tasks which are long running, CPUintensive, input/output-intensive, etc.).

At step 402, the rollout module 88 identifies one or more additionaldata centers categorically grouped with each of the affected datacenters. Categorical groupings may include groupings by regionallocation, grouping by firewall, etc. In embodiments, the rollout module88 may access a database of data centers (e.g. located on the SCM server60 or the CCMDB 66) in order to determine an additional data center(s)which matches (i.e., is in the same category as) as the affected datacenter(s).

At step 403, the rollout module 88 maps rollout steps to each affecteddata center's IT infrastructure topology. In embodiments, the rolloutmodule 88 may utilize historic rollout data from similar data centers(i.e., the additional data centers identified at step 402) in order todetermine which rollout steps map to which infrastructure topology of adata center.

At step 404, the rollout module 88 identifies available resources of theone or more additional data centers identified at step 402. For example,resources may include real-time local conditions such as available CPUs,memory, network speed, workload/availability, etc. In aspects, therollout module 88 may utilize data available through the CCMDB 66 todetermine the available resources. In aspects, the rollout module 88selects one or more of the available resources of the additional datacenters to assist with the rollout of the build output code. Inembodiments, the SCM server 60 automatically initiates modifications tothe one or more software components, based on the change list, utilizingthe one or more of the available resources. Such modifications may beinitiated in accordance with step 308 of FIG. 3.

At step 405, the rollout module 88 identifies relevant historic changedata in the CCMDB 66. In embodiments, the rollout module 88 identifiesone or more historic rollout steps in the historic change data thatis/are similar to the rollout steps determined at step 401 in the sameor a different environment. Historic change data may include parametersregarding the size of files deployed, the amount of data changed,implementation time (outage windows), nature of the change(s), etc. Inaspects, the rollout module 88 compares rollout parameters determined atstep 401 with historic change data parameters in order to identifyrelevant historic change data (e.g., parameters match or are similarwithin a certain confidence level).

At step 406, the rollout module 88 generates a forecast of expecteddowntimes (outage windows) required to rollout the build output codebased on the relevant historic change data identified at step 405 andthe rollout parameters determined at step 401. In aspects, the rolloutmodule 88 communicates the forecast to the CCMDB 66 via the network 50to update the CCMDB 66. In embodiments, the rollout module 88 appliesscaling factors to the relevant historic change data to account fordifferences between historic parameters and rollout parameters. Forexample, a scaling factor may be applied to account for the fact that aslower network increases an outage window by 20%, or that a high powerCPU reduces an outage window by 40%.

At step 407, the rollout module 88 generates a list of softwareapplications at risk of errors due to the rollout, based on the relevanthistoric change data. For example, the rollout module 88 may access therelevant historic change data in the CCMDB 66 and compare historicchanges to changes on the list of changes for the rollout (determined atstep 306 of FIG. 3) to identify historic problems with prior rolloutsthat may be relevant to the present rollout. In aspects, the rolloutmodule 88 communicates the list of applications at risk to the CCMDB 66.

At step 408, the rollout module 88 automatically assigns manual tasksand automated tasks of the rollout steps determined at step 401. Inembodiments, the rollout module 88 can utilize a database of resources(human and computer-based) stored in the SCM server 60 or the CCMDB 66to determine which human or computer-based resource to assign to each ofthe manual and automated tasks in accordance with step 408. In aspects,the rollout module 88 shares the assignment of tasks from step 408 withthe CCMDB 66.

In embodiments, at step 409, the rollout module 88 automaticallyinitiates changes to local conditions (e.g., reconfigures resources) inone or more of the affected data centers to decrease the expecteddowntimes of the forecast generated at step 406. For example, therollout module 88 may send instructions to a data center to cause thenetwork bandwidth at the data center to be increased in order to reduceprocessing times required to implement changes at the data center. Step409 may be implemented in conjunction with step 308 of FIG. 3. Inembodiments, the rollout module 88 initiates changes to multiple datacenters by sending instructions to one or more data centers to share ortransfer resources. In aspects, data centers of a same or similarcategorical group may receive instructions from the rollout module 88 tostart a peer-to-peer node collaboration to achieve targeted changes tolocal conditions within the data centers. For example, the rolloutmodule 88 may cause resources within data centers to share storage space(memory), computational resources (processors) or the like.

At step 410, the rollout module 88 continuously updates the forecastgenerated at step 406 based on relevant historic change data of theCCMDB 66 (which may be continuously updated at the CCMDB 66), andreal-time rollout parameters. In this way, automatic changes to localconditions implemented at step 409 will be accounted for in anysubsequent re-forecasting, such that forecasting data can be updated inreal-time based on real world conditions.

In embodiments, a service provider could offer to perform the processesdescribed herein. In this case, the service provider can create,maintain, deploy, support, etc., the computer infrastructure thatperforms the process steps of the invention for one or more customers.These customers may be, for example, any business that uses technology.In return, the service provider can receive payment from the customer(s)under a subscription and/or fee agreement and/or the service providercan receive payment from the sale of advertising content to one or morethird parties.

In still another embodiment, the invention provides acomputer-implemented method for software change tracking and management.In this case, a computer infrastructure, such as computer system 12(FIG. 1), can be provided and one or more systems for performing theprocesses of the invention can be obtained (e.g., created, purchased,used, modified, etc.) and deployed to the computer infrastructure. Tothis extent, the deployment of a system can comprise one or more of: (1)installing program code on a computing device, such as computer system12 (as shown in FIG. 1), from a computer-readable medium; (2) adding oneor more computing devices to the computer infrastructure; and (3)incorporating and/or modifying one or more existing systems of thecomputer infrastructure to enable the computer infrastructure to performthe processes of the invention.

The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present inventionhave been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intendedto be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the describedembodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain theprinciples of the embodiments, the practical application or technicalimprovement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodimentsdisclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:automatically mapping, by a computing device, differences between abuild output code and an in-production software code to respectivemicroservices of the in-production software code, wherein each of themicroservices is a piece of software code for performing a respectivefunction; generating, by the computing device, a list of microservicesof the in-production software code based on the mapping; and generating,by the computing device, a change list including one or more softwarecomponents to be modified in a rollout of the build output code based onthe list of microservices.
 2. The computer-implemented method of claim1, further comprising comparing, by the computing device, artifacts inthe build output code with artifacts of the in-production software codeto determine the differences between the build output code and thein-production software code, wherein the microservices of thein-production software code are microservices determined to be affectedby each of the differences.
 3. The computer-implemented method of claim1, further comprising: determining, by the computing device, that anapproval record is not required by the computing device to implementchanges to the one or more software components based on one or morepredefined policies; and automatically initiating, by the computingdevice, changes to the one or more software components based on thedifferences between the build output code and the in-production softwarecode.
 4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprisingsending, by the computing device, a notification indicating that changeswere made to the one or more software components.
 5. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising determining,by the computing device, one or more affected data centers associatedwith the one or more software components of the change list.
 6. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 5, further comprising: accessing,by the computing device, historic software change data in a changeconfiguration management database (CCMDB) via a network; determining, bythe computing device, rollout parameters for the build output code;determining, by the computing device, required rollout steps formodifying the one or more software components of the change list basedon the historic software change data and the rollout parameters; andmapping, by the computing device, the required rollout steps toinformation technology (IT) topology of the one or more affected datacenters.
 7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, furthercomprising: identifying, by the computing device, one or more additionaldata centers categorically grouped with each of the one or more affecteddata centers; identifying, by the computing device, available resourcesof the additional data centers; identifying, by the computing device,one or more of the available resources to assist with the rollout stepsfor modifying the one or more software components; and automaticallyinitiating, by the computing device, modifications to the one or moresoftware components, based on the change list, utilizing the one or moreof the available resources.
 8. The computer-implemented method of claim6, further comprising: identifying, by the computing device, historicsoftware change data in the change configuration management database(CCMDB) relevant to the rollout of the build output code; generating, bythe computing device, a forecast of expected down times required for therollout of the build output code based on the identified historicsoftware change data and the rollout parameters; and updating, by thecomputing device, the change configuration management database (CCMDB)with the forecast, via the network.
 9. The computer-implemented methodof claim 8, further comprising: automatically assigning, by thecomputing device, manual tasks of the required rollout steps to one ormore agents and automated tasks to one or more available resources ofthe respective one or more affected data centers; and updating, by thecomputing device, the change configuration management database (CCMDB)with the assignments of the manual tasks and automated tasks, via thenetwork.
 10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, furthercomprising automatically initiating reconfiguration of the one or moreavailable resources of the respective one or more affected data centersto decrease the expected down times.
 11. A computer program productcomprising a computer readable storage medium having programinstructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable bya computing device to cause the computing device to: automatically mapdifferences between a build output code and an in-production softwarecode to respective microservices of the in-production software code,wherein each of the microservices is a piece of software code forperforming a respective function; generate a list of microservices ofthe in-production software code affected by the differences, based onthe map; and generate a change list including one or more softwarecomponents to be modified based on the list of microservices.
 12. Thecomputer program product of claim 11, wherein the program instructionsfurther cause the computing device to: determine that an approval recordis not required to implement changes to the one or more softwarecomponents based on one or more predefined policies; and automaticallyinitiate changes to the one or more software components based on thechange list.
 13. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein theprogram instructions further cause the computing device to send anotification indicating that changes were made to the one or moresoftware components to a remote computing device via a network.
 14. Thecomputer program product of claim 11, wherein the program instructionsfurther cause the computing device to: determine one or more affecteddata centers associated with the one or more software components of thechange list; access historic software change data in a changeconfiguration management database (CCMDB) via a network; determinerollout parameters for the build output code; determine required rolloutsteps for modifying the one or more software components of the changelist based on the historic software change data and the rolloutparameters; and map the required rollout steps to information technology(IT) topology of the one or more affected data centers.
 15. The computerprogram product of claim 14, wherein the program instructions furthercause the computing device to: identify one or more additional datacenters categorically grouped with each of the one or more affected datacenters; identify available resources of the additional data centers;identify one or more of the available resources to assist with therollout steps for modifying the one or more software components; andautomatically initiate modifications to the one or more softwarecomponents, based on the change list, utilizing the one or more of theavailable resources.
 16. The computer program product of claim 14,wherein the microservices are microservices determined to be affected byeach of the differences, and wherein the program instructions furthercause the computing device to: generate a forecast of expected downtimes required for the rollout of the build output code based on thehistoric software change data and the rollout parameters; and update thechange configuration management database (CCMDB) with the forecast, viathe network.
 17. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein theprogram instructions further cause the computing device to:automatically assign manual tasks of the required rollout steps to oneor more agents and automated tasks to one or more available resources ofthe respective one or more affected data centers; and update the changeconfiguration management database (CCMDB) with the assignments of themanual tasks and automated tasks, via the network.
 18. The computerprogram product of claim 17, wherein the program instructions furthercause the computing device to automatically initiate reconfiguration ofthe one or more available resources of the respective one or moreaffected data centers to decrease the expected down times.
 19. A systemfor software tracking and management comprising: a CPU, a computerreadable memory and a computer readable storage medium associated with acomputing device; program instructions to automatically map differencesbetween a build output code and an in-production software code torespective microservices of the in-production software code, whereineach of the respective microservices is a piece of software code forperforming a function; program instructions to generate a list ofmicroservices of the in-production software code affected by thedifferences, based on the map; and program instructions to generate achange list including one or more software components to be modified ina rollout of the build output code based on the list of microservices,wherein the program instructions are stored on the computer readablestorage medium for execution by the CPU via the computer readablememory.
 20. The system of claim 19, wherein the microservices aremicroservices determined to be affected by the differences, the systemfurther comprising: program instructions to determine required rolloutsteps for modifying the one or more software components of the changelist based on historic software change data and rollout parametersassociated with the build output code, the rollout parameters selectedfrom the group consisting of: a size of the build output code, an amountof data to be modified, estimated change implementation times, andavailable resources; and program instructions to generate a forecast ofexpected down times required for the rollout of the build output codebased on the historic software change data and the rollout parameters.